Stand in the Rain
by Matelia-legwll
Summary: It's a song I heard on the radio and thought of Lily Evans immediately. DH compatible, with definite spoilers. JPLE pairing. Begins towards the start of the Marauders' sixth year. My first songfic, and first complete fanfic. Pretty long. Review kindly.


Stand in the Rain

By: Matelia-legwll

Disclaimer: Alright, I don't own the lyrics to the song, "Stand in the Rain," that is owned by whoever owns _Superchick_'s Beauty from Pain 1.1 album. Oh and my name isn't Jo Rowling and I'm not an absolute literary genius, so I don't own Harry Potter related characters and places. I don't think I own a single character in this whole song-fic. Perhaps the only thing I can lay claim to is the inspiration that made me put this plot together with the song. Oh, and some later parts were copied directly out of DH, that all belongs to the genius of JKR. I almost forgot. I get Edward. Little of him that is mentioned, but hey.

Summary: It's a song I heard on the radio and thought of Lily Evans immediately. DH compatible, with definite spoilers if you're worried about that. JP/LE pairing, mostly. Begins towards the start of the Marauders' sixth year. My first song-fic, and first completed fan-fiction. Might not be my best writing, but it's still good. Review kindly.

Rating: T just to be safe, I could probably just classify it as K , but I'm cautious.

Genre: Romance/Angst; JP/LE

Warnings: Character Death, mentions of Death Eaters' torturing innocents, happy ending.

* * *

The crash of thunder shook the Great Hall, and the silence following the thunder was filled with the pattering of rain as the cloudburst finally broke. Lily Evans looked gloomily up at the enchanted ceiling. 

"Finally," muttered Lily's friend, Mary Macdonald, as Lily resumed eating her breakfast. "I thought that storm would brood until we had Care of Magical Creatures or Herbology or something," Mary continued.

Lily shrugged noncommittally, her mouth full. The brooding weather had mirrored her mood for the last several days.

A loud conversation was taking place further down the Gryffindor table, and Lily, along with the rest of the table, couldn't help overhearing James Potter debating with his best mate, Sirius Black.

"Ruddy conditions, Prongs," Sirius had remarked. "Reckon Quidditch practice will be cancelled?"

"Not if we want to win the match," retorted James grimly.

"What?" exclaimed Sirius. "You _can't_ be planning on making us try to fly in this weather, mate!"

"Blimey, Padfoot. We can't choose the weather for the match. What makes you think I'll let you lot off because of a little sprinkle?" asked James as there was a flash of lightning followed immediately by another ear-splitting rumble of thunder.

"Little sprinkle?" repeated Sirius incredulously. "You reckon getting blasted off our brooms by lightning is good training for the match?"

James shrugged. "Sure."

"Blimey. Lighten up, Prongs."

"You lighten up," retorted James.

"No, you!" argued Sirius.

"I already am," protested James.

"Prove it," said Sirius.

There was a pause, when James just looked at Sirius, who was smirking at him. James looked up the Gryffindor table and called out.

"Hey, Evans!" he shouted.

Lily froze. He was calling to her. Her eyes automatically raked the Slytherin table for any sign of Severus Snape, before she remembered she was still not friends with him. She sighed, then turned a little to face James Potter.

"What, Potter?" Her exasperation at herself crept into her voice.

James hesitated for a second, wavering, then smirked and loudly proclaimed, "Go out with me."

Lily rolled her eyes. How typical. She deliberately set her fork down, gave Mary an apologetic glance, gathered up her belongings and started to stride down the aisle between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables, towards James and his mates, towards the door. James was watching her apprehensively as she approached; she had been known to explode at him before. She made as if to walk right by the lot of them to leave the Great Hall, when Sirius called out.

"Well?"

"Well, what?" retorted Lily, still walking.

"What's your answer?" demanded Sirius.

Lily turned to face them, still moving toward the exit. "The whole school knows my answer by now, Black. I don't need to repeat it again and again."

As she turned back around, she heard James mutter, "Well, you could just change your mind."

"I heard that, Potter!" she called over her shoulder, as she walked steadily out of the Great Hall, not looking back and seeing James's surprised smile, or hearing Sirius whisper maybe she was starting to fall for James, or hearing Remus Lupin change the subject to protest the plans for the boys' newest prank.

_She never slows down  
__She doesn't know why  
__But she knows that when she's all alone  
__It feels like it's all coming down_

"Alice!" exclaimed Lily after clambering through the portrait hole into the Gryffindor Common Room. "Why aren't you at breakfast?"

"I _can't_ get this _stu_pid _charm_ to _work_ _right_," pouted Alice, enunciating her words with sharp flicks of her wand in the direction of her pet toad.

Glad of the distraction, Lily asked, "What charm are you trying to do?"

"Silencio. Nonverbally," said Alice morosely. She suddenly looked up at Lily. "Hang on. Lily, you're excellent at Charms. Could you tell me what's wrong?"

"Well..." began Lily uncertainly.

"Oh stop being modest. Sit down, sit down," said Alice, motioning to a comfortable armchair in front of her. "Now." Alice concentrated and jabbed her wand, and after a moment or two the toad audibly croaked. She looked over at Lily hopefully. Lily looked thoughtfully at her.

"Try saying the charm out loud," suggested Lily.

"Oh, that part's easy. Silencio!"

The toad made no noise as it attempted to croak several times. Lily took off the Silencing Charm and the toad happily croaked again.

"So the problem is doing it nonverbally," mused Lily. "Have you had trouble with other nonverbal spells?"

Alice looked shiftily at the floor. Lily took that as a yes.

"Okay." Lily paused, then a thought struck her. "Have you ever tried casting Levicorpus?"

"What?" Alice looked up, startled.

"Levicorpus. It suspends a person in the air. I know it's not usually taught, but it was quite popular last year. I could turn around and someone was in the air." Lily shrugged, and Alice shook her head negatively, still looking confused.

"Here," suggested Lily, "I'll cast it on the first person that comes back into the Common Room."

Almost as the last word left her mouth, the portrait hole opened and James Potter climbed in, followed by his mates, saying, "Come on, Moony. Filch never suspected a thing."

Lily winced, half-glanced at Alice who was trying to hide a grin, then directed the spell onto James. He let out a surprised shout as he was lifted into the air by his ankle. No sooner was he up in the air than Lily performed the countercurse and brought him back down to earth, resulting in peals of laughter from his mates. "Ow," moaned James.

"See Alice?" asked Lily, trying to remain professional, and being betrayed by her face. "That is the simplest spell I know of to do nonverbally."

"Really?" giggled Alice.

"Don't you agree, Potter?" asked Lily, no longer able to contain a smirk.

"Agree with what? That you should go out with me?" James quickly suggested, getting to his feet.

"No, you prat. That Levicorpus is one of the easiest spells to do nonverbally," corrected Lily.

"Oh, excuse me, Professor Evans," said James, bowing low.

"Oh shut it. Alice is having trouble with nonverbals. Now Alice," said Lily, turning to her, "for your, er," Lily tossed a glance at James who was smirking at her, "for lack of a better word, _homework_ from me, try casting Levicorpus on someone. Oh and the countercurse is Liberacorpus. . . . Are you listening?" asked Lily as she saw Alice blush. Lily turned around to see Frank Longbottom stumbling through the portrait hole. With a knowing look at her friend, Lily slyly suggested, "Why don't you ask Frank to help you with Levicorpus and Liberacorpus?"

Alice flushed even darker. Lily laughed, stood, and went to find Mary, going around James and his mates who were now in a quiet but heated discussion about plans for the next weekend.

* * *

"Lily!" a harsh whisper called to her in the library. Lily stiffened, but continued to stare at her potions book, as if she was ignoring the voice. 

"Lily Evans, you turn around right now." Lily let out a breath, but didn't turn one inch.

"What do you want, Severus?" she hissed.

"To talk to you," he said softly, coming around the table so she had to either look at him or turn away. She set down the book, open flat on the table, and met his eyes.

"Is this about what you said after our Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L. last year?" Lily asked quietly.

Severus Snape looked sheepishly at the ground and nodded.

"You still don't get it, do you?" whispered Lily, shaking her head. How she expected him, wanted him, to take the hint. She had avoided him all summer. She knew he was watching her from the shadows, but he never had possessed the courage to come and talk with her after what he had said, after she refused giving her forgiveness that first time. She had been glad that she hadn't needed to say it to his face, after so many years of friendship.

"What d'you mean?"

Lily sighed. All that avoidance resulted in nothing. He was still trying to apologize to her. "That was just the _last_ straw, Severus. The thing that made me realize I couldn't _keep_ pretending. That we _were_ on different paths and there is nothing I can do about that. I'm not changing my path, and you're apparently not changing yours."

"But—"

"We're on opposing lines Sev," interrupted Lily. "This war will make us fight brother against brother, sister against sister." Lily looked sadly at Severus. "Even sister against brother, Sev."

As Severus looked on speechless, Lily sighed, closed the book, handed it back to the librarian, and swept out of the library, not looking back.

It wasn't long until Lily came across someone she knew.

"Evans! Hey Evans! Wait up!"

Lily came to a stop and waited for James Potter to catch up to her, tapping her foot impatiently. "You better have a good reason I should, Potter."

"Of course I do. I want to talk to you," proclaimed James as he caught up to her.

"Ever feel like you have dèjá vu?" Lily asked absentmindedly.

"What?" Lily chanced a glance at James and he looked utterly confused.

"Never mind. What did you want to talk about?"

"Well, I know I've been a bit of a bully," James began.

"A _bit_?" interrupted Lily.

"Well, yeah. Anyway I just wanted to tell you, I've changed. I'm turning over a new leaf," declared James.

"Good for you," said Lily. "Now, if you'll excuse me—"

"Evans!" James caught hold of her arm, as she tried to walk away. "Why can't you give me a chance?"

"I'm not in the mood for giving chances right now, Potter. Check back in a month or two," retorted Lily as she succeeded in pulling away from James's grasp and started walking down the corridor.

"You gave Snivellus another chance, didn't you?" muttered James.

Lily froze. "I don't see how that's any of _your_ business, Potter."

"Were you, or were you not, talking with Snape just now in the library?"

"Why are you interrogating—"

"I knew it!" interrupted James, coming around to stand in front of her. "You won't talk to me because you're friends with Snivellus _again_."

"For your information, I am not friends with S — Severus any more," Lily said heatedly. "But if you can't bring yourself to call him 'Severus' at least call him by his surname instead of that revolting nickname."

"_You_ called him Snivellus once," pouted James.

"Yes, well, that was to bring him to his senses just after he called me a Mudblood."

"Lily Evans!" exclaimed James, his eyes widened in shock.

"What? Don't try and pretend you don't have the same prejudices the rest of the Wizarding World has."

"I don't," said James simply. "I'm what they would call a blood traitor."

"A what?"

"Blood traitor. I don't care about being pureblood. My whole family doesn't. Well, my uncle Charlie does, but every family has their black sheep."

"I don't believe you. Look at who your mates are."

"You mean Sirius?"

"Pureblood."

"It's _Sirius_, Evans. Honestly, he doesn't care about that anymore than I do. That's why he's the black sheep in his family. And what about Remus?"

"Half-blood, though his mum's Muggle-born, so it's only a technicality that he's even a half-blood."

James paused for a second, acting for a moment like he wanted to point something out and changed his mind. "And Peter?"

"Half-blood. His dad's a Muggle, a little bit better, but Peter doesn't live with him, now does he?"

James shook his head in amazement. "And you?" he asked.

Lily paused. "What do you mean, _me_?"

James sighed. "Evans, how long have I been chasing after you?"

"Since fourth year," muttered Lily.

"Actually, I started stalking you in third year," remarked James absentmindedly.

"What?" exclaimed Lily.

"Watching! I meant watching!" James hurriedly interjected.

"Sure you did . . . stalker," muttered Lily.

"_Anyway_," said James loudly. His tone softened as he looked into her eyes. "Do you think those kind of people don't take my feelings toward you into account?"

Lily bit her lip. "Yeah, fine. You'd be a Mudblood lover."

"Lily Evans!" said James reprovingly.

"What?" asked Lily brazenly. "Are you talking about Mud—"

James interrupted her by placing a hand over her mouth. "Blimey, Evans! That's a _really_ bad word. Mum used to wash out my mouth if I used a bad word and I'm tempted to do it now. I'm officially shocked at whoever taught you that kind of language." He gently removed his hand.

"Knew _you_'d be able to bring the conversation round back to Severus," muttered Lily.

"What?"

"Never mind. Now, if you'll excuse me—"

"Wait. Are you going to the Common Room?"

"Are you?"

"Yes?" replied James uncertainly.

"Good." Lily waited for James's face to light up and walked with him to the grand staircase before adding, "I'm going to Hagrid's hut. Goodbye!" She left him at the staircase, speechless for only a moment.

"Evans! Wait! Come back! Evans!"

She lifted a hand in farewell, but didn't stop and never heard him tromp up the stair.

_She won't turn around  
__The shadows are long  
__And she fears if she cries that first tear  
__The tears will not stop raining down._

Lily regretted her rash decision to go out on the grounds as soon as she stepped outside. The rain had not stopped until she had left the library and the grounds were extremely muddy. She could still see the beech tree by the lake dripping water off of its leaves. She glanced over at the Whomping Willow as she went past and saw it shake like a dog to dry off. She hurried as quickly as she could to Hagrid's hut, racing her giant of a shadow. Needless to say, the shadow won. She banged on Hagrid's door, and, although she could hear his new puppy Fang barking, Hagrid did not come to let her in. She finally had to admit that he wasn't there.

She turned back to the castle, somehow feeling worse than when she left James. Her eyes started to burn and her vision grew blurry. She blinked furiously, and muttered to herself.

"No, I will not cry," she insisted, "Just because Hagrid wasn't there, and I've had a rotten day, and I had to reject Sev and James—" her voice broke. She swallowed, blinking again. "I will _not_ cry."

_So stand in the rain  
__Stand your ground  
__Stand up when it's all crashing down  
__You stand through the pain  
__You won't drown  
__And one day, what's lost will be found  
__You stand in the rain._

"Alice! Why, whatever is the matter?"

Mary's concerned statement made Lily jolt out of her thoughts and look at her friends in concern. As Alice folded and set down the Evening Prophet, Lily was startled to see tears coursing silently down Alice's round cheeks.

"Oh, that's just _horrible_," choked Alice. "Just horrible."

"What? What happened?" asked Mary urgently.

"Those — those horrible Death Eaters," said Alice, wiping her cheeks.

An icy hand clamped over Lily's heart. "No — no one we knew, was it?" she asked anxiously.

Alice shook her head, and said in a steadier tone, "I don't think so. It was a Muggle family, but they haven't released any names yet."

"What happened to them?" asked Mary fearfully.

"Oh, it was _awful_," Alice drew a shuddering breath. "I hate to think of it happening to anyone. They tied up the parents and made them watch as they tortured their baby. He wasn't older than eighteen months, and they put him under the Cru — the Cruciatus Curse."

"What?" exclaimed Lily, her eyes stinging with tears in sympathy.

Alice nodded and continued. "Then, when the baby couldn't cry any more, they killed the parents and just left the poor baby on the floor."

"That's heartless!" exclaimed Mary.

"I would never let anything like that happen to my baby," declared Lily.

"I agree, Lily, I really do. The saddest thing about this was that they were Muggles and couldn't do anything to stop it," said Alice, her eyes brimming with tears again.

"What happened to the baby?" asked Mary.

"The babysitter came by just after the Death Eaters Disapperated. Apparently, she knew someone in the Wizarding World and sent an owl to St. Mungo's. The Healers came by soon afterwards and took the baby boy to a ward in there for recovery. He's there now. The main problem is that they don't know what to do with him after he recovers."

"Were there any leads on which Death Eaters were involved?" asked Lily.

"None." Alice paused and drew a deep breath. "Sorry I broke down like that, it just reminded me of what happened to Ed — Edward."

"Oh Alice!" cried Mary as she threw her arms around her friend as tears started to stream down Alice's face again.

"Don't you dare be sorry for something like that," said Lily sternly as she grabbed Alice's hands. In a softer tone, Lily stated, "Your brother — he was tortured like that before he died, wasn't he."

Alice nodded. "He was b—brave," she said brokenly. "He — he was try — trying to prevent something — anything from happening. He saved that Mug — Muggle family just — just by walking in at the right time."

Lily and Mary, both still comforting their friend, just looked understandingly at Alice and helped her grieve the loss of her brother, Edward, as best they could.

* * *

Lily decided to take a morning off from studying. She hadn't been able to concentrate very much lately and thought that a break must be what she needed. She wrote her apologies in a note to Mary and Alice, who shared a knowing glance before nodding and waving her out of the library, and went to find a spot where she could just sit and think. She stumbled on a corridor where Peeves was stuffing chewing gum in several keyholes, before cackling and swooping away in front of Filch, with his cat by his side, who always tried to catch and stop him. She immediately ruled out anywhere in the castle as she ran straight into Professor Slughorn, who offered an invitation to his office and some of his newest shipment of crystallized pineapple, a honor to be sure. The castle was just too crowded to be alone. Who knew when James Potter or his mates might run into her after doing some prank. She had been framed by them once, and that was enough for her. 

She went out onto the grounds and was pleasantly surprised to find that it had dried out a little. She walked down to the birch tree, or was it a beech? She could never remember. Lily slid down its trunk to a sitting position, nicely shaded. Her thoughts turned to the incident Alice had mentioned the other night. How shocked she had been to find out that that family had been the Wood couple that lived down the street from her parents with their new baby. Lily was even more shocked to find out that her sister, Petunia, had been the babysitter that had contacted St. Mungo's with Lily's owl. The new information gave everything Lily and Alice and Mary talked about a new, more personal, perspective.

She found that she was more scared for her friends and family. Lily knew, deep down, that the only way to prevent atrocities, like what happened to her neighbors, was to fight. Fight the horrible Death Eaters; fight the man whom everyone feared and who titled himself Lord; fight for everything she dreamed of having one day and for others' abilities to dream and fulfill their own dreams. But she finally had admitted to herself that she was scared. Scared, but not for herself; she didn't fear death nor becoming a martyr for the cause of overthrowing You-Know-Who. She didn't have a death wish or anything like that; Lily just knew a good cause when she saw one.

Lily finally admitted she was terrified that there was the possibility of failure. She might fail to protect those she loved the most, her contribution might not be enough. There was also a fear that if she stood up for what she believed in, she might die, but too soon to make a difference. Lily shook her head and bit her lip. If she didn't stand tall at all, how would she make the difference she craved?

Lily never noticed the clouds growing darker, as she debated with her fears, hugging her knees. She began to rock backward and forward, her expression tense as she stared into nothing, completely submerged in her thoughts and fears.

_She won't make a sound  
__Alone in this fight with herself  
__And the fear's whispering  
__If she stands, she'll fall down._

The first thing from the outside world she noticed was a raindrop had hit her hand. Lily lifted her face to the brooding sky and watched the heavens break open and pour out the water it was holding in reserve. The rain drenched her, cleansed her, and she stood as it washed away the traces of any tears Lily might have shed from her face.

_But stand in the rain  
__Stand your ground  
__Stand up when it's all crashing down  
__You stand through the pain  
__You won't drown  
__And one day what's lost can be found  
__You stand in the rain_

* * *

Lily Evans found herself aimlessly wandering the halls during her free period on a October Tuesday. She had a gut feeling she should get to work on her Herbology essay, but once again, she couldn't concentrate on it. She couldn't concentrate on much of anything, however, with lightning flashing through the Common Room and thunder startling her every few seconds. _Why_ did Godric Gryffindor have to build his Common Room in a tower? For Merlin's sake, _why_? 

Thinking about Mary and Alice enduring a Divination lesson and feeling whimsical, Lily wished that she would see someone she knew that would invite her to do something with them. Almost immediately her eyes caught hold of Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew snickering about something as they leaned against the stone wall on the side of the corridor. To Lily's surprise, Sirius met her gaze and beckoned for her to join them. Lily blinked. She shook her head and hurried on. _That was odd_, she thought. Lily revised her earlier wish to someone that she knew _and_ was friendly with.

"Hey Lily, are you headed toward the library?" asked Remus Lupin's voice from behind her.

Lily suddenly stopped, causing Remus to almost knock into her as he caught up with her. She blinked again, then shrugged.

"I dunno, actually," replied Lily. "I was going to try and do that Herbology, but it's raining outside."

Remus scrunched up his face in confusion. "Why would rain outside interfere with writing an essay?"

Lily half-smiled. "I can never concentrate on much of anything when it rains. So I wander."

"Ah," responded Remus. "I hadn't noticed that."

As Lily turned to wander the castle some more, Remus caught hold of her arm.

"A word of advice, Lily."

She looked at him curiously.

"I would avoid wandering the Charms corridor if I were you," remarked Remus blandly.

Lily almost smiled. "A prank in action?" she tossed out.

Remus grimaced at how fast she saw through his advice. "Not yet," he admitted. "But Peeves is down there, writing rude words in an empty classroom no doubt, and revenge has been in order since he dive-bombed us with the water balloons."

Lily did smile this time. She had been one of the few present that didn't get soaked that time around. "I'll keep that in mind, Remus. Thanks."

As they parted, Lily wondered vaguely whether Remus and Sirius could read minds. She would soon add James Potter to that list.

She found herself in the library reading a Muggle book she loved to read when it was raining outside. However she kept getting interrupted right when she got involved in a particularly good part. Tapping noises were the bane of her existence. She was three-quarters of the way through the moderately short novel, when the librarian, Madam Pince, started signing books in with a very scratchy quill pen. She wished, just for an instant, for a scapegoat she could take out her frustrations on. To her immediate surprise, James Potter appeared from nowhere in front of her.

"Hey Evans, want to go see what we did to Peeves?"

Lily raised her eyebrows at him. James exaggeratedly studied her face for a moment.

"Blimey. You look ready to bite someone's head off," was his only comment.

Gallantly ignoring that statement, and turning a page in her book, Lily said, "Remus advised me to _avoid_ the Charms corridor."

James looked confused. "Moony said that? But — he just barely said that he thought _you_ would appreciate what we did and didn't do."

"And you just thought that I'd drop everything to go admire your handiwork?" asked Lily scathingly.

James shrugged, noting how her mood had changed from the playful rejection of their last encounter to this vicious attack. "Er," he smiled sheepishly. "I had kind of hoped —"

"You thought that I — Lily Evans, top of the class, straight O student, and voracious reader — would put down a _book_ to come and see what you — James Potter, Marauder, prankster, and Quidditch-obsessed _boy_ — did to a school constant like Peeves?" Lily burst out, effectively taking out her bad mood on him.

James studied her face for a moment as she turned a page, then glanced toward Madam Pince whose quill had stopped scratching and noticed that the librarian was now glaring at the two of them for the amount of noise they were making.

"Evans, I think it would be better if we went _outside_ the library to start hurling insults at each other," James murmured to her.

"Who said I wanted to insult you?" asked Lily serenely, turning yet another page in her book.

James looked dumbfounded. "Er — Evans, you just did," he said cautiously.

"Did what?" asked Lily absentmindedly, pretending to be caught up in her book.

"Er — insult me. You just did insult me," he quickly clarified.

"Oh? How so? I thought I was just speaking the truth," said Lily, not turning from her book even though not a word was registering with her brain.

James mouthed soundlessly for a moment, while she turned a page in her book.

"The 'Quidditch-obsessed boy' part was rather insulting," James finally admitted.

Lily looked up at him. "Are you obsessed with Quidditch, Potter?" Not waiting for his answering nod, she barreled on, "You _are_ a boy. You're not a girl, are you, Potter?"

"Neither am I a _little_ boy," pouted James. "I'm sixteen."

"Just because you're almost of age in the Wizarding World—" began Lily.

"Hang on. Muggles don't come of age?" interrupted James.

"Not until they're eighteen," responded Lily, too shocked at the question to come up with a biting answer.

"Blimey. How odd."

"No it isn't," argued Lily. "Anyway, before I was so _rudely_ interrupted—just because you're almost of age doesn't mean you act mature. You don't even act your age sometimes. As evidenced by your pranking of Peeves and other less talented people."

She seemed to have hit a nerve, because he didn't make his usual comeback. He just asked, "Are you finished now, Evans?"

She didn't want to say how much this surprised her. "Perhaps," she said cheekily, turning another page.

"Then maybe you should listen to what we actually did to Peeves rather than judge by our past experiences," James retorted.

Lily turned the last page in the book, closed it and set it on the table and looked steadfastly at James, raising her eyebrows in challenge. He studied her face for a moment, glanced back at Pince, who was still sending the two an occasional irate glare. He suddenly grabbed Lily's hand and pulled her from the library, to Lily's loud protests. She stopped protesting halfway down the corridor when she heard someone whisper her name in shock. She looked around in confusion. James took advantage of this momentary shock to readjust his grip, interlocking their fingers, and to start his explanation.

"Now I know you won't believe something like this until you see it, but to understand it, you must know what each of us had proposed to do to exact revenge on the menace known as Peeves.

"First, Padfoot suggested we pelt Peeves with Dungbombs." James shrugged, "That's Sirius for you. Always the Dungbombs. Wormtail — er — Peter suggested that we just pelt him with water balloons so no one has to deal with the smell of Dungbombs and Peeves gets perfect justice. Pete's not always very good at coming up with original ideas, but he makes up for it with his ability to persuade. But Moony and I had altogether different ideas.

"Remus suggested that we turn his outfit into something that clashed with itself, but then Sirius pointed out that Peeves already wears something like that. Moony's usually better at thinking things through. My idea is the one we finally went with, and I have to say that you were my inspiration for that, Evans."

"If I turn a corner and see Peeves looking like me..." growled Lily.

"Ah, no," said James, laughing. "You see, I remembered you talking to Slughorn about that Tracking Potion after class the other day."

Lily groaned in horror. "Please tell me you didn't attempt to make something as ridiculously complicated as that potion."

"Oh, of course not," said James. "Snape's as good a potion maker as you are and —"

The words he was saying finally registered in her brain. "Snape? As in _Severus_ Snape? As in the same boy that was my friend for the last six years and your mortal enemy from that first ride on the Hogwarts Express?"

James smirked at her reaction. "Of course that Snape. How many other Snapes do you — Hang on, how long did you say Snape was your friend for?"

"Six years. Until last June," Lily said shortly.

"Six? But we were only Fifth years."

"I know how to count, Potter. Six. But that's not the point."

"But—"

"Still not the point, Potter. _Why_ in Merlin's name did Severus help _you_?"

"He hates Peeves?" suggested James with a shrug. "Honestly, I have no clue. Anyway, he had some of that potion on hand and —"

"I'll kill him!" exclaimed Lily, tugging on her hand to get free. James just held on tighter.

"Who? Snape? Why?"

Lily stopped and looked patronizingly at James. "That potion is _dangerous_, Potter. It's not meant to be digested. It's one of the rare poisons that a bezoar down the throat won't cure if the potion is ingested and it kills within minutes. I'll kill him."

"Er — As entertaining as that would be to watch, I still don't see the point of killing Snape."

"He gave that to you hoping you'd be thick enough to drink it."

James roared with laughter. "We know better than to drink it. Sirius even made a point to tell Peeves to open his mouth."

At Lily's glare, James laughed harder. "Evans, you're forgetting that Peeves is contrary. Especially to everything Padfoot says to him. He immediately clamped his jaws shut and we poured the potion over him, drenching his clothes with it. We immediately Vanished the drips, Filch should be grateful, and charmed his smock to read in text that won't vanish if he turns invisible 'Peeves is out of bed' and when the text is done, the clothes shout out where."

Lily's furious expression twitched as she tried not to laugh at the image that came into her mind. James noticed it and hurried her to the Charms corridor. As they rounded the corner, they saw Peeves hovering in air, looking in shock at his betraying clothes, hands and feet bound to a nearby suit of armor. Remus and Sirius had their backs to James and Lily while they could see Peter spotting them arriving on the scene. Slughorn was standing not too far away, and Lily wondered why the boys weren't getting in trouble.

"Prongs!" came Peter's happy cry.

In spite of that, neither Remus nor Sirius turned to look. Keeping his eyes on Peeves, Remus asked, "Just where did you disappear off to?"

"Yeah, Prongs, you almost missed Slughorn's verdict. Where _did_ you—" Sirius cut himself off as he turned slightly and spotted Lily with James. "Oh, _hello_ Evans. So nice of you to join us." Sirius's eyes traveled down to where James was still holding Lily's hand and he smirked at her. Lily felt a blush burn her cheeks.

How in the world had she forgotten she was still holding James's hand? She started trying to slowly remove her hand from his grasp. Drat him. The more she tried to pull away, the tighter he held onto her hand. She chanced a glance at James. He was quietly conversing with Sirius, not paying any attention to her puny attempts to remove her hand.

Lily started fuming. He was acting as if it was the most natural thing in the world, to be holding hands with her. He didn't even notice the fact that she might consider it unwelcome. She tried a quick little jerk, but he was ready for it. She paused, and his hand relaxed a little. She relaxed her own hand, needing time to think, and gave up for the time being as Slughorn turned from his examination of Peeves to the five of them.

"Well, well, well." Slughorn was smiling broadly. "A most excellent use of a Tracking Potion. And a most superbly brewed potion, Lily. I'd say ten points to Gryffindor overall."

"But — How — What — Why?" spluttered Lily as Slughorn took his leave of the group.

"Ours is to receive, not to question why," murmured Remus to her. He straightened, looking at Peeves closely. "Hey Padfoot? I think Peeves is coming out of it again."

"Again?" asked Lily looking from Remus to Sirius.

"Well, yeah. He's been in shock for a while, but I have to keep talking him out of it so he'll go back in it," said Sirius. "Wish Sprout would hurry up," he added.

"Why Sprout?" asked Lily.

James smirked. "Full of questions now, aren't you?" Seeing Lily start to glare at him he elaborated. "We're trying to get a reaction from all the Heads of Houses. Flitwick was laughing when he saw what we'd done. McGonagall actually smiled, but she took five points off of Gryffindor. Should make you feel better, Evans. And, well, you saw old Sluggy's reaction."

"Dumbledore came by after you had disappeared," remarked Peter.

"Oh? What happened there?" asked James.

Sirius shook his head in amusement. "He offered Peeves an acid pop. Peeves, being in shock, took it and sucked on it like a lolly. That's the fastest I've ever seen Peeves curse. I think the people in the hall learned a few new curse words, actually."

"Then Dumbledore walked away, chuckling to himself," inserted Peter.

"But not before giving Gryffindor four points and Slytherin one point for ingenuity," finished Sirius.

"Hang on. How _did_ he know that Snape helped us?" asked Peter.

"It's _Dumbledore_," replied four voices in unison. Lily felt slightly embarrassed at answering with James, Sirius, and Remus who were now roaring with laughter at answering together.

"Oh, right," muttered Peter.

Hit with inspiration, Lily swiftly yanked her hand out of James's grasp and succeeded. She immediately drew her wand to keep him from grabbing her hand again. How dare he attempt to hold her wand hand?

"What?" James turned to her, his confused expression changing to worry when he noticed her wand. "Er, Evans? _Why_ do you have your wand out?" asked James cautiously. She smirked at her power; he probably thought she was going to hex him for holding her hand. And, while a tempting thought, it did not sit quite right with her.

"I thought this prank could use a few touches," replied Lily calmly pulling out a piece of parchment. Peeves, who they had ignored until now, began to screech bloody murder. Sirius immediately clapped his hands over his ears, almost immediately followed by Remus and Peter. James winced horribly, his hands twitching, trying to be the brave one, but wanting to copy his friends.

Lily frowned. "Oh, Merlin. _Langlock_!" she said irritably pointing her wand at Peeves. Peeves immediately clutched at his throat, his screaming stopping abruptly, he looked as if he might decide to choke. All four boys looked at her in awe; Sirius, Remus, and Peter slowly lowering their hands. Finally Sirius spoke up, voicing their sentiments.

"Merlin's pants! What did you _do_, Evans?"

Lily shrugged. "Langlock. It glues your tongue to the roof of your mouth." She turned back to the parchment she was charming to read:

Peeves Pranked!  
Charms and Pranking by J. Potter, S. Black, R. Lupin, and P. Pettigrew  
Potion brewed by S. Snape  
Peeves silenced and flyer by L. Evans  
P. Sprout still needs to see

Lily turned around to see the boys still standing shell-shocked. "What? Don't tell me he never cast that on any of you."

"Who?" asked Peter.

"The boy who invented the spell," said Lily shortly.

"And that would be whom?" asked Remus, raising an eyebrow.

Lily shook her head. "Never mind." Holding up the parchment, she asked, "What do you lot think?"

Peter peered at the parchment. "How did _you_ know Professor Sprout's name begins with a 'P'?"

"It does?" asked Remus, Sirius, James, and Lily in unison.

"I meant the 'P' to stand for 'Professor,'" added Lily.

"Professor _Pomona_ Sprout," Peter nodded knowingly.

"Mate, that's just weird," muttered Remus.

To cover up the awkwardness of Peter's statement, Sirius commented, "Evans, you got the order wrong."

"Oh I do, do I?" Lily's eyes flashed.

Ignoring the danger, Sirius pressed on. "Oh, yes. It's always Moony, Wormtail, me, then Prongs."

"That makes no sense whatsoever," proclaimed Lily.

"More than yours makes," argued Sirius.

"Not so! It was Potter's idea, so he went first, followed by the rest of you lot from tallest to shortest," said Lily smugly.

Sirius opened his mouth to retort, paused, and closed it again. Remus and Peter looked impressed while James grinned.

"Knew we were perfect for each other, Evans," remarked James quietly. "We are the only two that can shut Padfoot up." James hurriedly added, "He's right about the order, though."

Lily rounded on James. "Really? Why would _you_ of all people be willing to go last?"

James shrugged. "We've always been in that order — Remus, Peter, Sirius, and me. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs." James pointed to each person as he said the nicknames.

"Yeah," inserted Sirius. "We've signed our pranks for the last two years as M.W.P.P."

For some reason, Peter giggled. He laughed then giggled again. Lily noticed he had a very squeaky, high-pitched giggle. Remus groaned.

"_What_ possessed you to verbalize the acronym? Sirius, you know he won't shut up for at least half an hour now."

Sirius winced, "Sorry guys," as Peter gasped, "P.P." and fell into a giggling fit.

Lily twirled her wand irritably. He had quite an annoying giggle. Remus, Sirius, and James all cast Bubble-Head Charms on themselves. James pointed his wand at Lily, presumably to do the same spell for her, when she warned, "Don't you dare." She paused.

"Would anyone hex me if I shut him up?" All three boys shook their heads vigorously in the negative. "Good. _Langlock_!" Peter stopped laughing immediately and looked around in confusion. His hand went to his neck and he swallowed.

"Honestly. Bubble-Head Charms? They're not soundproof in the least," reproved Lily as the boys took off the charm.

"It's better than nothing," insisted Sirius.

"Seriously, Lily, you've got to stop arguing with Padfoot and Prongs," inserted Remus as Lily opened her mouth to retort.

James smirked. "_Moony_ does it in the right order," he teased Lily.

Remus rolled his eyes. "Of course I do. I've learned that you two will insist on that order no matter what I do."

Sirius frowned. "Moony, it helps your self-esteem to be put first."

"Oh, now I get it," said Lily. "Smallest to largest ego, right?"

"Er, not exactly," said James nervously.

"Prongs," warned Remus.

"I _know_, Moony." James bit his lip, then said, "It just sounds better to have the one-syllable name come last. Just like you would say Potter and Black, it just sounds more natural to say Padfoot and Prongs."

Sirius brandished his wand and tapped the names on the parchment, muttering, "Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs."

Lily looked at the parchment as the words rearranged themselves right in front of her eyes. "How did you _do_ that?"

"What? You mean the words? Evans, that's a common essay revising spell," said Sirius, smirking.

"Padfoot," rebuked James. "She hasn't had the need to play around with words on parchment like we have."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Lily defensively.

"Well, er, we sort of, er," James awkwardly rubbed the back of his head, then said in a rush, "made–a–parchment–that–insults–whoever–tries–to–read-it."

Miraculously understanding James's words, Lily said, "Somehow I'm not surprised." She wrinkled her nose. "For some odd reason I'd actually like to see that."

"Er, Lily? You do realize that it is _us_ that is doing the insulting," stated Remus.

"And we made it _last_ year," added Sirius.

"Why would that matter?" asked Lily blankly.

"It probably wouldn't work right for the _beautiful_ Miss Evans," said Sirius, bowing and obviously teasing James.

"Oh shut it, Padfoot," muttered James.

Lily's eyes widened. "Wait, _you_ had a part in this project?"

"Er, what does 'we' mean to _you_, Evans?" asked James, bemused.

"Oh, blast! The ruddy parchment would probably ask me out twenty times before there was any good insults." Lily felt more than saw James draw closer to her, more than likely to try to put his arm around her. "Don't you dare, James," said Lily warningly. She looked down at the parchment, before her eyes widened and she looked up and saw James's grin, adding belatedly, "Potter."

She looked in fright at the other three boys who had just now realized her slip of the tongue. She hurriedly folded the parchment, murmured, "I'll take this to Sprout," and dashed down the corridor before any of the boys could taunt or tease her or embarrass her even more. She stopped as soon as she turned the corner, and leaned on the castle wall, not yet out of earshot, but out of sight. She could hear the two boys known to their closest friends as Padfoot and Prongs loudly celebrating and talking.

"She called me James!"

"I got five Sickles off of Moony!"

"Lily Evans just called me James!"

"I won the bet! Come on, pay up Wormy! ... What are you doing? ... Why can't you just talk to us instead of this miming nonsense? ... Did Evans ever say how long that Langlock jinx was supposed to hold? ... What do you mean? ... I still don't get what you're trying to say. ... Well, _that_ wasn't a very nice gesture. I'm ashamed of you Wormy. ... Moony, can you find Evans so she can take off the jinx and so I can actually understand Wormtail? ... But Prongs is busy right now. ... _Please_, Moony?"

Lily stopped listening and ran to the greenhouses to see if Sprout was there. She couldn't keep a smile from blossoming on her face as she dashed away. If nothing else, those Marauders could always manage to cheer her up, and apparently this last prank had actually raised Gryffindor fourteen points and Slytherin one point. She even didn't regret her slip of the tongue, not that anyone would know _that_ anytime soon.

_She wants to be found  
__The only way out is through everything  
__She's running from  
__Wants to give up and lie down_

_

* * *

About five years later . . ._

Lily Evans Potter came in to the sitting room and smiled. Her husband, James, had been entertaining their son with colored smoke from his wand again. Almost sad to break the father and son bonding time, she gently said,

"It's time for Harry to go to bed, love."

James scooped up Harry and presented the laughing babe to his mother, murmuring, "That late already, darling?" James carelessly tossed his wand onto the sofa, and stretched, yawning. "I'm tired, how about you, Harry? Want to go to bed yet?"

Suddenly there was a crash in the hall. It couldn't be the storm outside, it was just drizzling tonight. Had the door just been broken down? Lily froze for a split second looking into James's eyes trying to convey her emotions. James gave her and Harry a quick kiss, before dashing towards the noise to investigate.

Lily heard her husband loudly call, "Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off!"

Holding Harry to her, she dashed up the stair, hearing that dreaded voice laugh, and the fateful curse that no wizard stood a chance against. She remembered to her dismay that he hadn't grabbed his wand. She dashed into the nursery, as she heard a thud.

"No! Not James! I love you! No, please no!" she cried hysterically. She set Harry down momentarily as she searched herself for her own wand, remembering too late that she had set it down in the kitchen. "No! What about Peter? What about Sirius? This cannot be happening! Please let it be a bad dream."

In any case, she started barricading the door with all the furniture she could find. The chair, boxes, all lent themselves to her purpose. She could hear _him_ getting closer, climbing the stair. She picked Harry up again, bracing herself as _he_ reached the top of the stair and found the nursery room. "I love you, Harry," she murmured as she heard _him_ at the door.

_He_ blasted the door in, sweeping the furniture she had so hastily assembled aside with a lazy flick of his wand. She gave Harry one last squeeze, then hastily laid him in his crib and turned around, facing Voldemort, determined to protect her baby from harm any way she could. She protectively spread her arms wide, covering the baby boy in the crib from sight.

"Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!"

"Stand aside, you silly girl . . . stand aside now."

She could hardly register that he wanted her to move aside. She wasn't doing that in any case. Harry had to be protected at all costs.

"Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead —"

"This is my last warning —"

Did he even possess mercy? He must; he was human, wasn't he?

"Not Harry! Please . . . have mercy . . . have mercy. . . . Not Harry! Not Harry! Please — I'll do anything —"

"Stand aside. Stand aside, girl!"

She was frozen, standing over the crib, determined to protect her son, her baby, to her dying breath.

"No!" she screamed as she heard the fateful words that no witch or wizard had survived. She saw the rush of green light, and — she saw her body collapse. She heard Voldemort laugh. She couldn't move from the room, but she was somehow not visible to Voldemort. Not a ghost, then. She suddenly realized Harry hadn't cried once this whole time and felt a rush of love and pride for her baby boy.

He pointed his wand at Harry, and Harry finally began to cry, realizing that the man in the cloak was not James, or Sirius, or Peter. Voldemort grimaced. He said, "Avada Kedavra!" Lily couldn't turn away, couldn't understand. The curse had backfired? Voldemort collapsed to the ground as the house ripped apart by the seams and she saw a spirit creature rise up from his body and flee the house. She turned back to her son, her baby boy was still crying, screaming now as a bit of mist drifted over him. He looked unhurt except for a small cut on his forehead. Her baby had survived the Killing Curse! She suddenly heard James calling to her, from far away seemingly, and she yearned to go to him. But before she left, she gently touched Harry's cheek with a ghostly hand and whispered, "We do love you, Harry." Harry stopped screaming, only whimpering now, and she turned and called, "James! Where are you?"

_So stand in the rain  
__Stand your ground  
__Stand up when it's all crashing down  
__You stand through the pain  
__You won't drown  
__And one day what's lost can be found  
__You stand in the rain_

_

* * *

About sixteen and a half years later . . ._

"So it all comes down to this, doesn't it," whispered Harry. "Does the wand in your hand know its last master was Disarmed? Because if it does . . . I am the true master of the Elder Wand."

A red glow burst suddenly across the enchanted sky above them as an edge of dazzling sun appeared over the sill of the nearby window. The light hit both their faces at the same time, so that Voldemort's was suddenly a flaming blur. Harry heard the high voice shriek as he too yelled his best hope to the heavens, pointing Draco's wand.

"_Avada Kedavra_!"

"_Expelliarmus_!"

The bang was like a cannon blast, and the golden flames that erupted between them, at the dead center of the circle they had been treading, marked the point where the spells collided. Harry saw Voldemort's green jet meet his own spell, saw the Elder Wand fly high, dark against the sunrise, spinning across the enchanted ceiling like the head of Nagini, spinning through the air toward the master it would not kill, who had come to take full possession of it at last. And Harry, with the unerring skill of the Seeker, caught the wand in his free hand as Voldemort fell backward, arms splayed, the slit pupils of the scarlet eyes rolling upward. Tom Riddle hit the floor with a mundane finality, his body feeble and shrunken, the white hands empty, the snakelike face vacant and unknowing. Voldemort was dead, killed by his own rebounding curse, and Harry stood with two wands in his hand, staring down at his enemy's shell.

One shivering second of silence, the shock of the moment suspended: and then the tumult broke around Harry as the screams and the cheers and the roars of watchers rent the air. The fierce new sun dazzled the windows as they thundered towards him, and the first to reach him were Ron and Hermione, and it was their arms wrapped around him, their incomprehensible shouts that deafened him. Then Ginny, Neville, and Luna were there, and then all the Weasleys and Hagrid, and Kingsley and McGonagall and Flitwick and Sprout, and Harry could not hear a word that anyone was shouting, nor tell whose hands were seizing him, pulling him, trying to hug some part of him, hundreds of them pressing in, all determined to touch the Boy Who Lived, the reason it was over at last—

* * *

Lily Potter, beaming, and bursting with love and pride for her son, glanced at her husband: a couple of tears were running down his face as he watched his son surrounded by those whom he loved and who loved him. James enveloped her in his arms and whispered in her ear, "Much better than winning the Quidditch World Cup." 

She laughed brokenly, and gave him a light kiss before turning back to the scene in front of them and taking a steadying breath.

"So you aren't disappointed that he wants to be an Auror?" Lily asked cheekily.

James rounded on her. "What are you talking about, madwoman? I've always supported that decision of his!"

"Oh really?" drawled Lily. She had been waiting for this moment for a while, and she was going to enjoy every moment of this now. "So what was all that talk about how stupid that was of him, and how Sirius should beat some sense into him and persuade him to take his Quidditch talent worldwide?"

"Oh, Lily. That was just talk," grinned James. "You expected me to say something like that, and I rewarded you."

"And I suppose you think _I'll_ reward _you_ now," Lily pursed her lips.

James grinned and looked back at Harry. "Voldemort's gone. That's reward enough for me." He paused, delighting in her surprised expression. He got her every time. She just could not be bothered to remember that he was more mature now. "Though I wouldn't say no to any other reward you might be thinking of," he added cheekily, totally ruining the image of being mature.

She smirked at him. "You'll just have to stand in the rain."

He frowned. "What _do_ you mean by that expression, Lily? You use it all the time."

Lily thoughtfully said, "I've done it, Harry's done it, you've done it, we have all stood in the rain, battled the storm and our fears. We all have endured the pain, on the promise that one day what was lost will be found, even though everything was crashing down around us."

"Lily," James softly replied, wrapping her once more in his arms, "you know, that day you're talking about begins today."

"I know," she smiled through tears in her eyes. "We love you, Harry!" she called and then left to go with James to their little cottage on the other side of the veil. Sirius, Remus, Nymphadora, Albus, Severus, Dobby, Fred, and all the others who died a victim of Voldemort and his Death Eaters would be waiting there to hear what the outcome was. Lily smiled. What a nearly perfect outcome it was.

_So stand in the rain  
__Stand your ground  
__Stand up when it's all crashing down  
__You stand through the pain  
__You won't drown  
__And one day what's lost can be found  
__You stand in the rain_

* * *

Author's Note: Well, Th—Th—That's All Folks! (line taken from Porky Pig; pathetic, I know) 

I hope you liked this song-fic! I would appreciate reviews, but I don't want to beg, and I'm sure house-elves don't read fan fiction, so orders are out of bounds. So just do it when you want to.

Thank you for reading!

* * *

Story Notes: 

I did add an extra chorus after the third verse, but it seemed to fit.

I also couldn't leave well enough alone without a happy ending, even if it is a sad and angsty song. I hope I did that well enough.

Oh, and before any of you Oliver Wood fans kidnap or flame me, I am still torn up about doing what I did to him, but it fits with my story line, and he _would_ be just over a year old at beginning of the Marauders's sixth year.

* * *

Here's the whole song if you want to read it nonstop: 

_She never slows down  
__She doesn't know why  
__But she knows that when she's all alone  
__It feels like it's all coming down_

_She won't turn around  
__The shadows are long  
__And she fears if she cries that first tear  
__The tears will not stop raining down_

_So stand in the rain  
__Stand your ground  
__Stand up when it's all crashing down  
__You stand through the pain  
__You won't drown  
__And one day what's lost can be found  
__You stand in the rain_

_She won't make a sound  
__Alone in this fight  
__And the fear's whispering  
__If she stands, she'll fall down_

_She wants to be found  
__The only way out is through everything  
__She's running from  
__Wants to give up and lie down_

_So stand in the rain  
__Stand your ground  
__Stand up when it's all crashing down  
__You stand through the pain  
__You won't drown  
__And one day what's lost can be found  
__You stand in the rain_

_So stand in the rain  
__Stand your ground  
__Stand up when it's all crashing down  
__You stand through the pain  
__You won't drown  
__And one day what's lost can be found  
__You stand in the rain_

Thanks for reading!


End file.
